Gop Leaders Move To Stall Amendment Vote

WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leaders moved Wednesday to postpone a vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution when opponents said they had the votes to block approval.

The opponents said they had the 34 votes necessary to block the two-thirds vote needed to approve a constitutional amendment. ''The best vote count we can take shows we've got a solid 34,'' said Sen. Daniel Evans, R-Wash.

For years conservatives have pushed the balanced budget amendment, and it is a major priority for President Reagan. The Senate passed a similar version in 1982, 69 to 31, but it fell short of the necessary two-thirds vote in the House.

Republican leaders were working to reach an agreement between proponents and opponents that would delay a vote until March 25. Meanwhile, Reagan and Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, R-Kan., strong backers of the amendment, are expected to rally to change votes.

It appeared Wednesday evening that at least six or eight of the 1982 ''yes'' votes had been lost because of a change of heart by senators or because supporters of the amendment had left the Senate.

To gain support, the GOP leadership Wednesday night accepted an addition to the amendment, which would require the president to submit a balanced budget each year. The Senate had rejected that change Tuesday 54 to 44. But it was accepted on a voice vote Wednesday because some senators, including Albert Gore Jr., D-Tenn., said they would oppose the amendment without the change.

One reason for the fall in support was enactment in December of a bill requiring steadily diminishing federal deficits and a balanced budget by 1991. A constitutional amendment is necessary to assure the budget remains balanced after 1991, backers say.

One senator, Quentin Burdick, D-N.D., said he wanted to give the new budget law a chance to work before he voted to make a balanced budget a constitutional requirement.